Stare No More
by gimmecookie
Summary: One-shot, Broh. Set just after Korra restores Lin's bending in the show and is more or less centered around Bolin's feelings/emotions, thoughts, struggles, etc.


Bolin stared with his mouth hanging open as Korra restored Lin Beifong's bending. He stared when she, as it seemed, so easily lifted those huge stones off the ground. Stared when Korra ran up to his brother, and Mako hugged her tightly and lovingly. He stared and stared and it seemed like that was the only thing he always did. Stare.

* * *

Now when the revolution was all taken care of, Amon was defeated and everyone seemed happy, for the first time in a long while it was Bolin's turn to feel down. He knew he should be happy and celebrating and, hell, sure he was, but still, he felt like something was missing. He looked over at his brother again. He was so occupied with Korra and although Bolin was happy for him, he still felt a pang of jealousy when he looked at the two hugging and kissing. Not wanting to run off screaming and crying again, he sighed and averted his gaze in search of Asami. He knew she was feeling similar, as she really cared for Mako and he could see the hurt in her eyes, when she looked at the couple. He walked up to her slowly, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him warmly. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't make a joke to lighten up the mood, but right now nothing really seemed to cross his mind, so he just offered a simple dinner at his favourite noodle place and Asami thankfully agreed to the invitation.

* * *

Bolin was a ladies' man, of course he was, everyone seemed to look at him in that light. Probably it was caused by the way he acted when they were still pro-bending. He didn't really pay much thought to any of those girls, he just liked the attention. But still. Now, as he sat with Asami, slurping his noodles happily - food always seem to lighten up his mood - he couldn't stop but think how depressed the older of the two looked. He made a few attempts at jokes before, but it didn't seem Asami was even listening to a word he said, so he just concentrated on the task at hand - his noodles and sharing some with Pabu. The girl was sad, but he had to agree, she still looked beautiful. He could understand what his brother saw in her and why he got so obviously blinded by her looks. Of course he thought he would never to something like that to anyone. Finally, when he finished his third bowl and Asami was still on her first, he asked if she was okay. Stupid question, he thought to himself, but nothing else came to his mind at that moment. She stopped staring at her noodles and looked at him instead. She said that no, she was not okay and it made Bolin sad, but then she added that she will be. She said it was not the end of the world and instead of crying over Mako, she will concentrate on the important stuff, such as the Future Industries; her father was now out of question and it was up to her to lift the brand's name again. Bolin just stared at her in silence.

* * *

That night he laid in bed on the Air Temple Island, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about Asami's words, replaying them over and over in his head. She said she will be okay. He considered it. Will he be, too? It was some time ago when his heart got broken seeing Korra and Mako kiss, but he brushed it aside because Mako was with Asami and they seemed happy together, so it was just logical to think that, at that moment in time, he still had some chances with Korra, right? This is why now he felt heartbroken all over again. But maybe things would get better soon, he just had to find himself something to do and occupy his mind with, other than laying in bed lazily and thinking about how, not only he won't be with Korra, but Korra will also take Mako away from him. His heart stung at that. He was never really alone before.

* * *

The night ended and the sun made its way right onto Bolin's sleeping face, waking him up and making him turn away from the rays and groan into his pillow. Then he remembered, and as quickly as possible got into the kitchen, where Jinora was sitting at a table reading a book, as usual. She looked up at him and smiled, then went back to her previous task. Bolin considered something for a moment, before asking her if she needed help with anything. She said no immediately and Bolin sighed, then asking about everybody else, anybody, somebody and she finally concentrated her attention on him, when she heard the unison in his voice. She titled her head to the side, thinking and Bolin looked at her with hopeful eyes. She didn't ask what that was all about, but said that he could cook for them. His face fell, as the only thing that he could do and even that wasn't as good as it should, were noodles. And he doubted they would like to eat noodles every day.

* * *

Then he found the younger sibling and asked the same questions as before. The girl furrowed her brows in thought before saying happily that he can do the chores, so she wouldn't have to. He smiled at her and she grinned in return. Waving to her as he walked away, he thought that he will not even try asking Meelo.

* * *

He wandered around the island meaninglessly, when he noticed his brother walking past him. Running after the older, Bolin smiled and jumped on Mako, giving him a bear hug. His brother looked at him questioningly and he shrugged, complaining about how bored he was. Mako just snickered and Bolin asked where he was going before he stopped him.

"Right. I was about to go and greet General Iroh." He said and Bolin heard some irritation in his voice, but ignored it, asking immediately what was the general doing here. Mako explained to him patiently that he will stay a few days to look if the city is okay. Then he groaned why Bolin never listens to what other people say and how he must move now, because he wants to go back to Korra and Bolin grimaced at the words, as he was not even present at breakfast today. Then a thought hit him and he told his brother to go to Korra and he will greet the General for him. Mako obliged immediately, happy to be able to see his girlfriend and probably also because he won't have to talk with the general.

* * *

Bolin noticed the general from a far distance and couldn't help but look the man up and down as he approached him. He admired the strong and collected attitude and he certainly liked his approach to things. Bolin felt sympathy for the general as soon as he met him and he wondered why, but brushed it aside as the man got closer and was now standing before Bolin, who looked up and grinned happily to make the general feel more at ease, or he hoped it would. Suddenly he got nervous himself and stood there, yet again just staring.

"General, sir." He began and closed his mouth again, thinking. Iroh raised his eyebrow at him and smiled reassuringly. "Well then! This way to the apartment, sir!" He said when he gained control over his voice, pointing his arm dramatically to where the temple stood behind him. When Iroh smiled at him, Bolin felt much better and took off, guiding the general.

* * *

This time he was laying in his bed and instead of mourning over Korra and his broken heart, he was smiling pleasantly. After he greeted the general, Bolin literally dragged him around the island, showing him every single thing that could be shown and talked about, and the boy was pleased that he finally had something to do, even if only for a short while. And he was even more ecstatic about the fact that the general beard with him the whole time without complaining and even smiling lightly at some of Bolin's jokes. Bolin knew that the man wouldn't be patient forever and he was sure that he will get bored of his companion pretty quickly and probably even prefer Asami's when he will get off the island and go into town. Of course, Bolin thought, who would even compare the presence of a loud teenage boy to a presence of a young, elegant and beautiful woman. Bolin's smile fell at that greatly and he sighed, turning onto his side and curling up on the small bed. He felt Pabu cuddle around him, dropping his fluffy tail onto Bolin's neck and the boy smiled at the ferret, patting it lightly on the head before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Bolin stared. He stared at the general and at how surprisingly good he was with children, as all three immediately found great interest in the man. Bolin stared while the man answered their questions calmly with a soft smile throughout the whole conversation, before Tenzin scolded his children and everyone went back to their food, Iroh with a sigh of relief and the kids with frowns and groans of displeasure at the interruption. But Bolin still stared, his food almost untouched, what was really shocking in itself. Then Iroh noticed and Bolin felt his face heat up so much that he wouldn't be surprised if it burst into flames. Quickly finishing his breakfast, he excused himself and walked out of the room stiffly, followed by looks of concern and surprise at his strange behaviour. Mako only wondered what is going on in that messy head of his and he glared and Iroh, who didn't seem to notice, yet again interrupted by the kids.

* * *

Bolin walked around the temple, deep in thought. Why would he act that way just few minutes ago? He really couldn't find any reason as to why and the only thing that came to his mind was the look on Mako's face before he walked out as quickly as possible. He saw how Mako look at him with concern and the thought of his brother still caring for him made him feel better. But then he caught the way he glared at the general and Bolin frowned. He really was confused.

* * *

When he couldn't bear the calmness and stillness of the Air Temple Island anymore he decided to go into the city. He needed some dumplings anyway. He wondered vaguely if Mako would go with him and something told him that he would, but only if Korra was going with them and the earthbender wasn't too compelled by the idea, but he still tried. He found Mako outside of the temple, sitting in the shadow it created together with the rest. Even Iroh was there, Bolin noted to himself. He walked up to his brother and coughed awkwardly to get his attention, as the older sibling was cuddling up with Korra on the steps. He said that why not, but only if Korra will go with them. Exactly as Bolin assumed and the young earthbender sighed, trying to hide his sadness and walking away from them without another word. Mako looked after him, but shrugged it off as his brother being really bored. Air Temple Island wasn't really his favourite surroundings.

* * *

He felt a firm hand on his shoulder and for a second he thought that his brother had changed his mind and wanted to go with only him, but when he turned around his mouth hung open and he found himself staring at Iroh. He blinked and looked at the general with questions evident in his green eyes.

"I thought you might like some companion." The general said with a small smile and Bolin's face lit up immediately at those few words. In excitement, he grabbed Iroh's hand and dragged him off into town.

* * *

While they were walking around the streets that were still under construction, but functioning well enough, Bolin couldn't help but think why the general would be so nice to him. He wrinkled his nose in deep thought, stuffing another dumpling into his mouth, when he noticed Iroh looking at him with amusement evident on his face.

"What?" He asked, after swallowing his food and Iroh shook his head.

"You are just really amusing to watch." The general replied and Bolin pouted, but inside he felt warmer at the thought of Iroh spending his time with the boy and not being all that bored of him. He was smiling pleasantly then, walking next to the general in silence, when a soft tail smacked him across the face and he woke up from his daydreaming and glared at Pabu, who titled his head to the side innocently and then in a matter of seconds jumped from Bolin's shoulders to the other man's swiftly. Iroh raised his brows as he looked at the ferret comfortably snuggling into his neck and Bolin started apologizing and trying to get the stubborn ferret off the man's broad shoulders, but Iroh stopped him saying that it is not a problem and Bolin sighed relieved. Somehow he felt happy that Pabu liked Iroh enough to even prefer his shoulders from his owner's and Pabu wasn't the one to sit just on anybody.

* * *

Bolin wasn't present at dinner that day, as he had so much fun with Iroh that he didn't even know when all that time had passed and instead they had some noodles at his favourite place. Bolin was much more comfortable now and he felt like his old self again, with no depressing thoughts flooding his mind and so he was grinning, laughing and joking around. He was really proud of himself when he even got the general to laugh out loud, making some people look at them strangely. Bolin's face was flushed and his eyes sparkled with excitement, as he talked throughout the dinner and he couldn't help the thought running through his head about how perfect this is. He was sure he never had so much fun with anyone else before, not even Korra. When they were walking back to the Air Temple Island the roles changed and it was Iroh's turn to talk about his adventures and although he was not as loud and dramatic as Bolin was, the boy still found himself listening to every single word and trying to remember all that left Iroh's mouth.

* * *

Then the boy noticed Asami walking in their direction and he did everything that came to mind to make himself and the general invisible, but Asami noticed them anyway and waved her slender hand, walking towards them. Bolin greeted her with a small nod of his head and she looked at him strangely, but quickly concentrated on the general, who greeted her like every gentleman would, taking her hand in his and kissing it gently. Bolin noticed her blush and not understanding why, the gesture and her reaction made his blood boil, but he quickly pushed it aside, grinning at the two. The general asked where she was heading and she replied that she was about to go to a restaurant for dinner.

"Maybe you would like to accompany me?" She asked sweetly and Bolin was sure she only meant Iroh and he got even more frustrated, because he knew that the general will be nice to her, too and won't say no. And it's not like he ate much at that noodle place and Bolin assumed that the cheap food wasn't really in the general's liking. But then Bolin's mouth was left hanging open at the words he heard from the other man.

"I would love to, but maybe next time, we just had some delicious noodles with Bolin. He sure has a great taste." The man said, looking at the teenager and smiling. Bolin blinked and then nodded vigorously towards Asami, who just sighed and they said their goodbyes before walking away.

"You really think they were good?" Bolin asked excitedly and the general laughed softly.

"Of course, why would I say I enjoyed it if I didn't?" He asked and Bolin considered it. His heart skipped a beat, but then he collected himself, reminding his racing heart that the general meant the food, not his company. "And I had great time with you, Bolin." He added as if he could read the other's mind and this time the earthbender didn't stop his heart from beating ten times faster than usual.

* * *

That evening Bolin laid outside on the island with his hands under his head, looking at the stars. He was smiling and replaying the previous events of the day in his mind. He went into town with the general and Iroh had a good time and even stayed with him when Asami offered an invitation to some restaurant, which was probably so expensive that Bolin's eyes would pop out of his head if he saw the prices. He felt so happy and the excitement was bubbling inside of him so much that he thought he won't be able to sleep at night. But on top of it all he was confused. He didn't understand why he felt so good when he was around the general and he couldn't really place his finger on all of the emotions that were present whenever the general was near.

"Bolin is in love. Bolin is in love!" He was snapped out of his daze when he heard the sing song voice of Ikki, who was hovering above his head with a huge smile on her face. He wrinkled his nose at her.

"What?" He said confused and she sighed dramatically, sitting beside him.

"Oh, don't deny it! I saw that look on your face! You are so totally in love!" She squealed in excitement and Bolin stared at her with blank expression.

"N-no, I was just thinking about-" He started, but stopped abruptly, widening his eyes and Ikki grinned at him.

"Who's the girl?" She asked as she bounced in place and Bolin just shook his head.

"No, you were just seeing things." He muttered out. "I was just thinking about my day with general Iroh." He said and smiled again at the memory. Ikki furrowed her brows looking at him and suddenly she burst out laughing. Bolin blinked and looked at her questioningly.

"Oh my, that look on your face! I saw it again! You were daydreaming about the general!" She screamed out, still laughing and Bolin's face paled as he looked around and tried to silence the young girl.

"No, no, don't be ridiculous." He laughed awkwardly and felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "I was not... I'm not..." He tried, but his voice trailed off and silence engulfed the two again, as Bolin stared into the distance, thoughts running through his head.

"Well then? Are you gonna tell him, or am I supposed to do it for you?" She asked excitedly and Bolin stared at her with panic in his green eyes.

"Oh, no! Ikki, you cannot tell him! Don't even-! Don't even mention a word, got it?" He said, his voice raising in panic and Ikki just laughed again.

"So it's true!" She squealed and jumped to her feet. "Bolin is in love, Bolin is in love!" She sang, as she bounced away from the terrified boy. Now he really won't be able to fall asleep.

* * *

At breakfast Bolin sat in silence with his face in his plate. His eyes were barely open, because as he assumed, he wasn't able to fall asleep even for a few minutes. After the conversation with Ikki he was thinking about her words and was terrified to find them actually true. He surely was not ready to get his heart broken again. And that was so gonna happen, he thought to himself, the general would never even think about being with someone like the poor earthbender. And a male to top it all off! Bolin was screwed. He sighed heavily.

"Bro, you okay?" He heard his brother ask and he looked up, squinting his eyes to see the other clearly. He muttered out a short yes and went back to the food. Mako frowned deeply at his younger brother's behaviour. He made a mental note to himself to talk with Bolin after breakfast.

* * *

Bolin walked through the corridors of the Air Temple with his shoulders slumped, when he heard footfalls behind and soon Mako was walking next to him.

"Right, Bo. I can see that you are clearly not fine. What's wrong?" He asked with concern, but Bolin just shook his head.

"Nothing, just tired. Haven't slept all night." He muttered out and yawned to emphasize his point, but Mako didn't seem to believe that was the only problem.

"It's that general isn't it?" He asked angrily and Bolin's head snapped up to look at the other with eyes wide open.

"What did Ikki tell you?" He asked panicked and Mako just looked at him strangely.

"Nothing? Was she supposed to tell me something? Is this man bothering you, Bo? Because I can take care of that." The older said with a frown on his face and Bolin noticed his clenched fists. Mako really didn't like that guy, the earthbender thought. And another negative thing to add to the list of the negative things about his new crush.

* * *

He was yet again walking aimlessly around the island, thinking thoughts that made his heart sink. Did he always had to fall for the ones that never wanted him? Well, sure he didn't ask the general if he liked him that way, but he didn't have to; he was sure that the man wouldn't even look at him in that light considering his status, his childish behaviour and mostly the fact that he was a guy. Bolin sighed dramatically for the thousandth time that day. Then he noticed Iroh in the far distance behind the trees. The man was training and Bolin found himself moving closer and he couldn't help but stare at the beautiful and swift movements. He stared at his muscles, his legs, his arms, his back and the earthbender felt his face warm up at the sight before his eyes. His breathing was shallow and his heart was racing faster than it ever did and Bolin couldn't stop himself from staring longingly at the older man. Then Iroh noticed him and stopped in the middle of his exercise to look at the boy. Bolin was still transfixed in the other man and he stood rooted in place as the general walked up to him.

"Are you okay, Bolin?" The man asked and Bolin blinked, coming back to reality and nodding slowly. He bit his lip, wondering if the older noticed his embarrassing behaviour.

"I was just..." He started, looking anywhere but the general. He cleared his throat and started again. "Well, I was walking around, you know, and then I noticed you here. Training. And, well. It looked pretty cool." He finished lamely and mentally slapped himself across the face. He heard Iroh's soft laugh and relaxed visibly.

"Well, thank you. Want to join me?" He asked and Bolin looked at him surprised. Then he grinned broadly and nodded running to the spot where he found Iroh training before he got interrupted. They trained and sparred for a while and now Bolin was sprawled on the ground looking at the clouds moving lazily across the blue sky. It was a nice day. Bolin was breathing heavily and thinking that the general was really good. Well, of course he was good, he was a general after all. The earthbender laughed under his breath and Iroh turned his attention to the boy, who just shook his head.

"You're really good, Bolin." Iroh said and Bolin sat up from his laying position to look at the man.

"What? I was just thinking how good you are! I'm just, well, nothing really and you're a general and all and I just and, you know!" He exclaimed excitedly throwing his arms above his head and Iroh just chuckled. Bolin took a deep breath to calm down his excitement and plopped himself down onto the ground again. He didn't want to scare the general off.

* * *

"Bolin?" He heard his brother's faint shouts and looked up to see him walking quickly in their direction. He noticed his face didn't really look too happy and Bolin frowned.

"What is it?" He whined, unhappy about the interruption of his alone time with Iroh.

"Get up and come with me." Mako said irritated, pretending not to see the general.

"Something's not right?" Iroh asked and Mako glared at the man.

"No." He growled. "I just want to spend some time with my brother, am I not allowed to?" He asked impatiently and Iroh just raised his brow at him, which made Mako even more frustrated. He grabbed Bolin's arm and dragged him away from the other man. The young earthbender looked at him with confusion written all over his face.

"What was that all about, Mako?"

"I don't like the guy. So just keep away from him." His brother said, not looking at the other and Bolin bit his lip.

"But he's cool." He tried to argue and Mako glared at him.

"I'm the older brother here and I'm trying to protect you, okay?" He said and Bolin nodded slowly.

"But do you think he likes me?" The earthbender asked cautiously and Mako stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the hope in his voice.

"What the hell, Bolin?" He asked, shaking his head and walking away from his brother. Well, now Bolin was even more confused than before.

* * *

It was night already, but Bolin wasn't sleeping. He was sitting outside on one of the stones surrounding the temple. He was deep in thought, wondering why his brother acted the way he did. Did he know about Bolin's feeling for the general and he didn't approve of them? Well, that sucked big time, he thought, not only he was heartbroken, but his brother felt disgusted with him. Could it get any worse than that? He felt his eyes water and he sniffed loudly, trying to control his emotions. He wasn't concentrating on his surroundings and so he didn't notice the figure approaching him and sitting quietly beside him.

"Why are you crying, Bolin?" His eyes widened when he immediately recognized the owner of the voice and he looked away from the general, rubbing at his eyes furiously.

"It's nothing." He muttered out at first, but then sighed and added that he had a fight with his brother. That would be fine to say without revealing much. It was silent for some time and at the same time Bolin looked up to see if the general was still there, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and he stiffened, glancing at Iroh. The man smiled at him reassuringly and Bolin relaxed, slumping against the other. That small gesture warmed his heart and he smiled weakly. That was all he could ever hope for and he was grateful. They stayed like that for some more time with Bolin's head resting on the other man's shoulder in silence.

* * *

Finally it was time for Iroh to go back and leave Republic City for now; Bolin knew that day would come quickly and he wasn't delusional that his stay would stretch out forever, but he still felt sadness at the thought of the general leaving. So he stared, standing with everyone else, while they said their goodbyes and Iroh was about to turn around when something even Bolin wasn't expecting happened. Maybe it was because he always only stared. Maybe it was because of his brother, who was standing right next to him giving out a relieved sigh as he glanced at the younger sibling. Or maybe, it was because of the look on Iroh's face as he scanned everyone and stopped to smile warmly at Bolin. He didn't really care what was the reason, what mattered was that finally, he was not only staring. He walked up to the general quickly, just as he was about to turn around and wrapped his arms around the other's neck, pressing his face into Iroh's chest. That way he didn't see if his expression was one of surprise, anger, or maybe happiness, Bolin hoped. He didn't see the way his brother looked, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes almost popping out of his head. Bolin didn't really care about any of that at that moment and he quickly stood on his toes, kissing the general on the lips with his eyes tightly shut. It was just a quick peck and when he was about to pull away, he felt Iroh's arms wrap around his waist strongly and his heart was racing so much that it was the only thing he could hear, when the general returned the kiss, pressing his lips onto Bolin's with more passion, making it last longer. Even thought it was his first ever kiss, Bolin decided that it was and will always be the best kiss he will ever get. He was light headed, feeling the warm breath on his lips, the gentle but passionate movement of lips against lips and he really couldn't care less about the shocked gasps from everyone behind him and a quiet, but happy 'yes' from Ikki. When they pulled away from each other and Bolin saw Iroh's smile, biggest he ever seen the man with, he grinned broadly, before turning around. The earthbender felt his face heat up in embarrassment as everyone's attention was on him and the general now. Korra was standing with a small smile on her face next to his brother whose face was stilled in a shocked expression. Next to him, Ikki was giggling and Jinora sighing dreamily, while Meelo was biting Tenzin's head, not really caring. Tenzin was looking anywhere but at the two and Pema's smile was similar to Korra's. Iroh wrapped his arm around Bolin's shoulder, making him relax some, but he still bit his lip at the look on his brother's face. Bolin was about to say something to him, when Korra grabbed his hand, squeezing it and Mako looked at her, his features softening as she leaned down, muttering something into his ear. The firebender sighed and then looked at his brother smiling apologetically; they could understand each other without words and right now Bolin knew exactly what his brother wanted to tell him. All the unanswered questions and the insecurities were swapped away immediately the second Bolin looked into his brother's warm and accepting eyes. He smiled, nodding and turned back to look at the general with sadness at the thought of him leaving evident in his green eyes. Iroh cupped his face in his hands, leaning down and kissing the other lovingly and Bolin kissed back, trying to transfer all of his emotions and feelings into that one kiss. He felt Iroh smile against his lips and at that moment Bolin was sure that he will no longer only stare.

* * *

Well, I hope at least somebody enjoyed this randomness, but I love this ship and I just wanted to write something about the two xd sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language.


End file.
